Elfen Lied: The End (Re-Published)
by EL619
Summary: A sequel to my first story 'Elfen Lied: The Last Diclonius'. Two years later, Lucy finally has the life and family she always wanted. But there is more to being a diclonius then she could have ever imagined.
1. Prologue

**Somewhere in Japan…**

Sakuroka hid behind a dumpster in the darkest part of the alley…hopeful nobody from the street beyond could see or find her. She pressed herself hard against the grinding brick wall, her breathing hard and heavy from exhaustion. Sweat rolled down her face, dripping off her nose. She watched with baited breath as person after person walked past the alley so quickly they blurred like moving pictures. With a sudden flash, as if being teleported there, three rough-looking boys stepped in front of the alley entrance. They desperately searched for her, twisting their heads viciously in all directions for a glint of movement. She caught her breath in her throat, not wanting to betray her location to the boys chasing her. Her heart pounded so hard with every sinister glance they cast her way that her chest felt like a drum. She felt it might burst from her rib cage. A large bead of sweat rolled down over her eye; the salt burning her vision. But she dared not wipe it away.

"SHIT! I think we lost her," one of the boys said to the others, kicking a nearby trash bin in frustration. "SON OF A FUCKING BITCH!"

"She's pretty fast for a girl," another one added.

"You mean for a freak," the first boy retorted. They all stood in the middle of the sidewalk, caught in a storm of silent fury. After a few tenses moments, the first boy sighed, and then growled, "Come on, let's go. We'll find her again later."

"Yeah, I was getting hungry anyway," the second returned. "You guys wanna go get some ramen or something?" After agreeing to ramen, they all set off in the direction of the nearest cart.

"You have to admit though, that girl does have one sweet ass," the one cooed as they walked away.

"Yeah, she is one fine piece of cherry pie. If it weren't for those weird horns, I'd hit that REAL hard." The three of them continued their perverse discussion about what each of them would "do" to her if ever given the chance. One of them gave a final look over his shoulder, and when he was certain there was nothing down the alley, ran to catch up with his friends. Once certain they were out of earshot, Sakuroka let out a much-needed sigh of relief, though her heart continued to pound against her ribcage. Her body was now stiff and sore all over, and she was grateful for the chance to rest. Her stomach lurched inside her, giving a rather loud rumble to scold and remind her that she was neglecting to feed it. As she rubbed her stomach in a futile attempt to settle her hunger, she licked her lips longingly, thinking that ramen sounded pretty good right now.

However, as was the custom with being homeless, she was often times lucky to eat anything at all. And the fact that she had horns didn't help with her already poor image with the public. She always seemed to notice the disgusting glances and severe looks people gave her as they past by. What hurt her most often though, was when people didn't look at all. They simply brushed on, their eyes fixed forward as if they didn't notice her when she knew they had. They refused to acknowledge her very existence. To them, she was nothing…no more then litter on the street to be ignored. But even that didn't bother her so much anymore. She was used to it by now…or so she told herself. All that mattered was the next meal. She imagined the taste of ramen on her tongue, savoring that meaty, sweet, yet simple taste that most people of this country took for granted. She was rising to her feet, thinking about what she was going to do about her hungry belly…when she felt something.

A tiny tugging sensation tickled the back of her skull. It was only just barely on the edges of her consciousness. It felt kind of like when you're trying to remember something you know you've forgotten. Sakuroka looked up and down the alley, afraid the three boys might have come back for her. However, she was alone, and the alley was as quiet as the grave. The only movement and sound came from the crowd of people walking by the entrance, who still had yet to notice her there.

_**Sakuroka**_, a voice echoed. Sakuroka began spinning around fearfully, crashing into cans and tripping over boxes, furiously trying to find this voice that didn't seem to have a body to go with it. A feeling of helpless fear began crawling up her spine and digging itself into her.

"Who's there?" she demanded to the void.

_**Don't be afraid**_, came a quick a soothing reply, _**I'm your friend.**_

"If you're a friend then show yourself!"

_**I wish I could. But sadly it is not that simple.**_

"Is that so? And why is that?"

_**It is difficult to explain.**_ The voice was so close that Sakuroka felt like she could touch it. Yet she remand positive she was alone. Sakuroka had been spinning around so much that now she was feeling light-headed. So she stopped turning and plopped herself down onto the ground.

"Who are you?" she asked.

_**The real question isn't who I am…but rather WHAT I am.**_

"What do you mean?" Sakuroka decided to simply stare at the black wall opposite her and use it as a substitute for the missing body to match the mysterious voice inside her head.

_**Have you ever felt like you weren't alone before…as if somebody were following you, clinging to you like a shadow, even though you are completely alone? Or have you ever felt as I you were changing inside…like your soul was melding? Have you ever felt like you had power within you Sakuroka…unspeakable…unbeatable power? **_The dark voice spoke with icy precision. Every word and statement it spoke of rung as true as a bell. It also seemed able to see her dizzy and confused expression, as it continued. _**You have great power within you Sakuroka. And I am…that…power.**_

Without warning, something emerged out of Sakuroka's spine. It sent a hot chill throughout her body, and made her back feel like it had just fallen asleep. It extended in front of her, a vague, almost transparent object that coiled like a snake to its charmer in front of her eyes. Sakuroka thought it looked strangely like an arm.

"What's going on?" she asked edgily, pushing her back against the wall.

_**You are what's known as a diclonius, and your power is starting to awaken. These hands are your vectors. You have four of them and they are powerful weapons. They can lift great amounts of weight and can cut through almost everything. These hands shall serve you well as you write your destiny…and save yourself from the humans.**_

"What are you talking about?"Sakuroka's head was a jumble of confusion, and she was growing more afraid with every syllable the voice spoke. It was haunting and foreboding. Yet, she felt equally comforted by it.

**All your questions shall be answered in due time. But first you must do something. Go to Kamakura. There, you must find a diclonius girl named Lucy. Find her…and kill her. If you don't then she will kill you. Only after her death shall everything become clear, and you will then understand your true destiny.**

Before Sakuroka could raise her voice in protest, the voice ebbed away, as well as the feeling of its presence, leaving Sakuroka alone in the alley again. She stood in the breeze of the alley, dumbfounded. _What just happened_, she asked herself. Here she was, running through what she was told and trying desperately to make sense of everything, only to end up more confused then she was at the start. So she was this "diclonius" thing. And she had powers, which just happened to be four invisible hands. Had she finally snapped? Maybe the stress of her life had finally reached a peak and taken their toll on her. For all she knew, she could have been talking to the wall for the last few minutes.

But there was a deeper force inside her telling her it was the truth. And this Lucy…she seemed familiar somehow. The prospect of meeting her was very engaging, like finding a forgotten friend. Moreover, the idea of killing her was even more appealing. It was an unnerving feeling at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made the most sense out of anything. Why shouldn't she kill this Lucy? Why shouldn't she get revenge on all people for how miserable her life had been? As the aspect grew on her, it went from sounding appealing to sounding fun. She felt called to it.

She closed her eyes to concentrate, and slowly removed one of her vectors from her back. Her arms prickled with goosebumps as she savored the feeling of it emerging from her back. She moved it back and forth in front of her, smiling at it as if it were a new toy.

Finally deciding, she got to her feet and took brisk strides down the road. It would take her a while to get to Kamakura walking, but that was one of the few good things about being homeless. You have all the time in the world. And so she walked, down the street, toward Kamakura…and toward Lucy.


	2. Chapter 1: Premonition

Yet another immaculate morning graced the skies above the Kaede House in Kamakura. The temperature was both cool and warm, keeping it at a comfortable level. Cotton clouds decorated the sky, which was a perfect shade of crystal blue in nice even patches. A breeze brushed past softly, like an angels touch, causing the branches of the now-blooming sakura trees to dance. The sun was high, shining brightly down upon the earth. Birds sang their songs, blended with the symphony of sights and sounds that made early morning so beautiful. It was obvious that spring now hung heavily in the air and was in full swing. The people of Kamakura could feel its positive energy radiating within and all around them. Everyday, they woke up full of life…ready to face yet another day filled with opportunity and mystery, all that is except for one.

Lucy leaned on the windowsill with her elbows as she gazed outside, letting the breeze whip her pink hair all around her face. With every breath, she could smell the sweet scent of the plants. A thunderous gargle from behind took her out of her reverence. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Kohta still fast asleep in their bed. His body lay contorted in an odd shape that Lucy didn't think was humanly possible. The covers were strewn messily all over, only half covering Kohta. His "bed head" was almost frightening, and a small trail of drool crawled down the side of his cheek. Lucy stifled a quiet chuckle at how ridiculous he looked. She smiled lovingly at him, thinking only of how much she loved him. But right now, she felt rather regretful of his sleeping habits. She often wished they could wake up and enjoy the morning together.

Morning had recently become Lucy's favorite part of the day. It had been a source of comfort and healing over the past two years. Looking out at the rising sun, witnessing everyday begin anew was very heartening. Whenever she would look out at that ball of red and orange fire, mixed with all the colors of the earth in all its grandeur, she felt something almost spiritual. The incident with Tomo was now two years old, and it certainly left scars on her as well as the others. The loss of Yuka was a tragedy that they would mostly likely never truly overcome emotionally. Yet, Lucy somehow felt like he had brought them closer together, albeit by default. And now, two years later, she finally felt like she had the family she always wanted, and knew that her tortured, scarred heart was starting to heal.

Kohta snored even louder, making Lucy flinch at its gurgling sound. _How many hours can that boy sleep? _Deciding to let Kohta sleep just awhile longer, Lucy draped herself in a robe and walked downstairs for some breakfast. About halfway down the stairs, she could the sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen, and wasn't at all surprised to find that Nana and Mayu were already up.

"Good morning, Lucy," Mayu said to her happily as she walked through the door. Nana uttered a similar greeting, both of them not turning their attention away from their skillets. By now, it was well-known in Kaede House that if Kohta was up this early, you might as well expect to find yourself in some parallel universe.

"Morning," Lucy said with a yawn as she walked toward the cupboard to grab herself a cup for some hot tea. "So what're you guys making?" she asked, trying looked over Nana's shoulder.

"I wanted to try and make pancakes again," Nana answered enthusiastically. Lucy's stomach gave a small lurch at the idea of Nana cooking again. Nana had certainly come a long way since she first left the island facility, having learned how to do many things by herself now. She could clean, go shopping, and was even starting to pick up how to read and write. Kohta now felt comfortable enough to leave her at the house by herself if the situation called for it. Moreover, while her progress was good, the one thing she never seemed able to pick up was cooking. Lucy remembered painfully how many of her meals were brunt or under-cooked, and the stomachaches it brought on afterwards since she and the others had eaten it anyway out of sheer moral support.

She remembered one time in particular when Nana had insisted she be in charge of dinner. Now normally, Mayu would be with her, but she had demanded they let her do it alone. Giving in to her demands, Kohta and the others let her make them dinner by herself. Everyone sat neatly in the dining room, their hands clenched tightly in their laps while they heard various crashing and odd odors coming from the kitchen. With every passing second, their breathing became harder, and they became tenser. After what seemed like hours, Nana finally brought them their dishes. She claimed it was fried eel with miso soup and boiled rice, but the eel was blackened to a crisp, the miso looked more like stagnant water, and the rice like cottage cheese. Everyone held their food in their chopsticks, understandably hesitant to put this…"food" in their mouths. But Nana's wide, sweet eyes won them over, and they ate the food, preparing for the worst. It turned out everything was worse then they expected. The taste was so putrid nobody could even think of a word to describe it. But they ate the food anyway. Afterwards everyone, except Nana, who was apparently too excited to eat, had stomach pains for a week, and it was secretly decided Nana wouldn't be allowed to cook without supervision again.

Lucy gave a sigh of relief when she saw Mayu give her a wink out of the corner of her eye where Nana couldn't see, noticing Mayu was making a "safe" batch just in case. Lucy put the kettle on the stove and turned the heat on, patiently waiting for the water to come to a boil.

"Are the girls up yet?" Mayu asked her while she waited.

"I don't know. I haven't heard them anything yet. I'll go check." Asking Nana to keep an eye on her kettle, Lucy walked back up the stairs on her tiptoes so as not to disturb the stairs. Upon reaching the door next to her and Kohta's room, she quietly pulled the sliding door open. This room had been converted a while ago into a simple, yet cute nursery with two cribs in the middle where Lucy's two daughters, Yuka and Nyu, were still asleep. Leaning against the doorframe, Lucy starred admiringly at her girls in their motionless and peaceful sleep. If anything in this house had truly saved her, it had been her children. They both were such a joy and blessing, and she was thankful for them both, each the spitting personality of the person whose name they inherited.

She remembered though, how scarred she was at first when she found out she was pregnant. She had been exhibiting some of the more common symptoms of a pregnancy not long after the Tomo incident, and everyone thought she would be smart to take a pregnancy test. After getting Mayu to help her with the test, she starred in horror as she held the results in her shaking hands. It was positive. Mayu screamed in joy, while Lucy stood open mouthed, unable to say a word. Mayu ran in the hall, shouting the news as if to proclaim it to the world. Nana and Mayu danced in circles, while Kohta wrapped Lucy in a tight embrace. But not even the strength of his bear hug to choke the fear out of her. She was going to have a baby. This was certainly something she didn't plan on. For the first few weeks, she laid in her bed hoping it would turn out to be a false alarm or a dream. But as the months went on, and the symptoms became stronger, she knew it was no dream. She was lucky Kohta and the girls were so excited about the forth-coming child, designing the baby's room, buying clothes for the baby, and other things. It meant she could distress in peace.

Going to the doctors for test over the many months was always hard. Not only for the fact that Lucy had no documents, which was a pain in the ass to explain, but also because it was just a self-reminder of what was to come. And it didn't help that at one visit, while under a sonogram, she found out she would be having twins. When she went into labor, it wasn't the birth pains that made her scream. She had experienced enough of that in her life. It was the constant stream of thoughts rising to the top of her head. _How can I possibly be a mother? Will they be like me? What am I going to do? _To make matters worse, one turned out to be a diclonius just like her. Lucky though, the other appeared to have inherited the human gene from Kohta. It was actually Mayu and Nana that suggested the names Yuka and Nyu, and both Kohta and Lucy agreed that the names seemed perfect.

Lucy was so terrified of the twins at first. When they took them home, she would barely ever hold them, only ever holding them when it was absolutely necessary. And every time she did, she had to fight back the tears. With all the blood on her hands, how could she hold this innocent child in her arms and call herself a mother? But slowly, she could feel her motherly instincts taking over. She started to want to hold them more and more. She even started to smile at them. And they would always smile back at her, gripping small parts of her hair in their microscopic hands. They were just to darn cute. How could she not love them with all her heart?

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Lucy's waist, and a chin rested itself on her shoulder. Lucy's smile broadened even wider as she felt Kohta's body against her own. He leaned in and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, then followed her gaze.

"They're just like their father," Lucy said after a moment of silence.

"Nice to know they got their looks from somewhere," Kohta joked.

"I meant how they could sleep forever," Lucy teased back.

"That's not very nice. I don't sleep that much," Kohta responded, putting on an overly obvious fake frown.

"Really?" Lucy said, raising an eyebrow at him. Kohta spun her around on her heels, holding onto her shoulders.

"Really." Kohta and Lucy held each other's gaze in what felt like ten lifetimes. Deeply they looked at each other, feeling they could merge their souls just by looking into each other's irises. And standing there, their love was both apparent, and profound. They could feel it coming from the other as easily as they could breathe. Kohta brushed a small strand of Lucy's hair out of her face, and then they both leaned in until their lips meshed into a kiss.

"While I hate to break up this romantic scene," said Mayu from the top of the stairs, "…but breakfast is ready in the dining room." Lucy and Kohta instantly pulled away, their faces red with embarrassment. Mayu lead them down to the dining room where Nana was waiting with the plates and utensils ready for them. They served the food, Nana a bit more aggressively. She was clearly excited and ready for everyone to critique her work. Everyone gulped nervously and prepared themselves for the worse as they slowly ate, and they were surprised to find that Nana's pancakes were cooked perfectly.

"Wow Nana," Kohta said after taking a rather large bite, his mouth still full, "This is really good." Nana's face blushed slightly from the compliment while she fidgeted with the ends of her nightshirt. Not long after, the Yuka and Nyu could be heard from upstairs. They had woken up and were hungry for some breakfast of their own. Lucy and Kohta went up to fetch the girls while Mayu and Nana quickly prepared them their breakfast. After they were feed, both of them were put in their play-pin while the rest of them proceeded to clean up. Together, they quietly worked, moving quickly like a well-oiled machine.

"So…are we still going to go?" Mayu asked about halfway through the job. The silence now became stagnant, heavy, and uncomfortable. They were all afraid this would get brought up at some point today, but the guessed there was no avoiding it. They stopped moving, holding themselves in place.

"I think we should," Kohta said finally.

"I don't want to," Nana protested, "I don't like that place!" No one was surprised about Nana's reaction. She had reacted the same way the previous times they had went.

"But Nana, don't you think we should all go together…as a family?" Kohta asked.

"I still don't like going there," Nana further protested, "You guys go. I'm staying here!" Nana dropped herself onto one of the kitchen chairs and crossed her arms in childlike defiance. It was odd to see Nana act like this. Though she was in actuality nine years old, her body resembled that of an eighteen-year-old girl.

"Nana, please," Mayu pleaded. Lucy just looked silently at her reflection in her tea, the ripples warping her image. In truth, she wasn't too thrilled about going either. If anything, she hated that place more then Nana did. Every time they went, memories of a time she'd rather have forgotten rushed through her like waves in high tide. However, she knew there was no getting around it.

"I think we should go too," Lucy said suddenly, still looking at her tea. Everyone fell silent and turned their attention toward her. "I don't like the idea of going either, but I think it's important that we do. We owe that to her at least." The room fell deathly silent again.

"Ok," Nana consented weakly.

"Thank you," Kohta said patting Nana on the head, feeling truly grateful. He turned to Lucy and gave her smile in thanks. "It won't be all bad. We've had some nice visits. I'm sure she be happy to see us again after such a long time since our last one." Kohta gave a small chuckle that sounded oddly forced and uncomfortable. After recovering from their moment of sensitive apprehension, slowly and quietly they got themselves ready, dressing in the appropriate clothing for visiting a grave.

* * *

Though it wasn't very far to the graveyard from the house, it felt much longer then that. Everyone walked in mournful silence, the only sound coming from the two infant girls as they giggled and made other various baby sounds, both blissfully ignorant of where they were going. Once they had arrived, they walked along the same path they had, by now, memorized that would lead them to the proper headstone. Lucy looked around, feeling every tormented memory that seemed forever etched here in the graves. She hated graveyards. All they did was remind her of exactly how many people she killed…and of the one person she didn't save. They stood in front of the grave with looks of stoic mourning. The grave was simple and traditional for a Japanese place of burial. There was a single slab of limestone marble, with a small alter for gifts and incense. And on the single slab was but a single word…

_Yuka._

"Happy birthday, Yuka," said Kohta as he and Mayu placed down two bouquets of yellow lilies, Yuka's favorite flower. "Sorry we haven't been here in a while." Kohta rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, looking embarrassed and smiling what looked like a genuine smile. Effectively enough, everyone else, including Nana and Lucy, started feeling much better then they had when they arrived. Now, it really felt as if Yuka were here with them again. These visits always started out rough like this, but soon afterwards, it would always get better. They could feel Yuka's spirit emanating around and within them, touching them. They always felt like she was looking down on them with that affectionate smile of hers.

There was the little shrine they made for Yuka back in her old room at the house, so they could've always visited her from there. However, Kohta had always found it more respectful to come to her actual grave where she was buried. Besides, Yuka had always been something of a traditionalist anyway.

"Nana's been getting much better with cooking," Mayu told Yuka. Nana immediately jumped in, eager to brag about herself.

"Yeah! Just this morning, I made pancakes, and everyone said it was the best they ever had!"

"I don't know if I'd say that," Mayu responded.

"Hey, that's mean!" Lucy joined the others in a hearty, well-meaning laugh at Mayu's teasing as Nana puffed her cheeks in irritation. Lucy stood behind them as they all took turns speaking to Yuka. With no real explanation for why, Lucy found herself smiling as she watched them.

But then, suddenly, Lucy felt a prickling, probing sensation in the back of her mind. Instantly (or rather out of old habits), her mind became clear and her body went stiff and defensive. She spun around quickly to see who was behind them, but there was no one there. Only row upon row of stone graves could be seen, which became strangely ominous. Lucy tried to get a good fix on what her feeling was, but the odd sensation had disappeared almost as instantly as she had felt it. It had vanished like dust in a high wind.

"Is something wrong?" Kohta asked her. Lucy didn't answer at first. She just continued to stare down the graves, looking for anything that seemed out of place. In the brief silence before she answered, Lucy could hear a whistle of wind as it flew past them, weaving in-between the headstones. It gave her a small chill, like death was breathing down her spine.

"No…it's nothing." Her reply seemed off and somewhat uncomfortable. Whatever it was she sensed, Lucy had never felt anything like it before. It wasn't like when she sensed another diclonius nearby. No, this was something…different somehow and she didn't like that at all, whatever it was.

On the way back to the house, she hung her head in silence while Mayu and Nana jabbered on constantly. She was trying to make sense of what she had felt back there. She knew it couldn't be Nana; she was used to that by now. Maybe she was sensing danger? But she was certain they were alone back there. Perhaps it was déjà vu? No, that was just wishful thinking. Every possible theory she came up with seemed just as unlikely as the last.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Kohta asked with concern, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Yeah, of course," Lucy said, giving a forced smile that she hoped appeared genuine. Kohta raised an eyebrow at her, but her smile seemed to convince him as he let the matter drop at that. Lucy let Kohta and the others walk a bit ahead of her so she could think without drawing attention. Why had that feeling bothered her so much? She didn't even know what it was.

Lucy decided to put it out of her mind for the time being. She didn't want to brood on it the rest of the day and risk worrying her family. For now she'd just forget she felt anything and worry about it later, hoping that maybe it would end up just being her imagination.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Lucy, she was being watched very carefully. Everywhere that Lucy went, the person wasn't far from her, as loyal as a shadow. The person could see her clearly as she power-walked to catch up with the others. As she finally caught up, the two infant girls were what initially grabbed their attention, especially the pinked-haired one with a pair of baby horns. But this was just curiosity. Lucy was still their main focus. They wondered how long it would be before she noticed the effects. A devilish smile crossed the features of their face.

"Soon Lucy," they said. "Very soon."


End file.
